As I mentioned earlier today, most of the liberal media has been in freak-out mode ever since the President decided to emerge from his hospital suite at Walter Reed for a quick drive past the crowds of people who have assembled there to show their support for him. It was a pretty quick trip, with the masked president waving from inside of the armored SUV as he went for a spin around the block. This has led to accusations from the press ranging from claims that he was putting his Secret Security detail in danger to risking making his supporters sick and even that he was mentally unstable for deciding to do this.
It sounds like somebody at the White House saw enough of these reports that they felt some damage control needed to be done. With that in mind, a statement was released reassuring everyone that all of the required precautions were taken before the drive-by trip got underway. (NY Post)
President Trump’s drive-by salute to supporters outside Walter Reed hospital was cleared by his medical team “as safe,” the White House said late Sunday amid criticism from top doctors.
“Appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the President and all those supporting it, including PPE,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.
“The movement was cleared by the medical team as safe to do.”
Reading all of the quotes from medical professionals in that report, I’ll agree that they have the general guidelines for patients being treated for infectious diseases on their side. Trips by such patients are suggested to be limited to medical necessity or unavoidable requirements. Also, getting into a confined space (like an automobile) with other people is discouraged because the others in the car should then be quarantined as well.
But are all of those concerns quite as valid when talking about this specific patient and the vehicle being used? As can be seen in the video, there were two agents in the car, sitting in the front seats while Trump was in the back. Both of them were wearing PPE, as was the President. Further, if you look closely, you can see that the SUV is equipped with a barrier between the front seat and the back seats, much the same as you find in most limousines. Those two agents may as well have been in a completely different car. It doesn’t strike me as a particularly risky situation (keeping in mind, as I said earlier, that I’m not a doctor and this is just a layman’s interpretation).
Also, if you’ve followed Trump’s presidency, you know that the guy is constantly on the go. Being penned up in that hospital suite for days on end must be driving him up a wall. He knows he’s supposed be out there taking care of business, rallying his supporters, and keeping up with the demands of the campaign schedule. He had to have been itching to find some excuse to get out of there, if only for a little while.
Also, as any of his endless rallies both before and during his presidency will demonstrate, Donald Trump loves getting out and mixing it up with his supporters. A huge crowd has assembled to pray for the President and show their support for him as he battles COVID. The chance to drive by, wave, and encourage the troops was obviously more than he could pass up and the crowds responded with great approval as they always do when the President comes among them.
So was this the best idea in the world? Probably not, particularly if you’re following the medical rulebook to the letter. But was it actually “insane” or even overly risky to anyone involved? His medical team didn’t think so, or at least they weren’t willing to say so publicly. And it clearly lifted Trump’s spirits along with those of the people assembled to support him. Somehow I’m just not seeing this as the end of the world.
